Zotefoams plc, a world leader in supercritical foams, will demonstrate its ongoing commitment to sustainability at Foam Expo Europe 2024 with the introduction of fully recyclable Polypropylene (PP) and Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) foam ranges, designed to improve performance and sustainability across a wide range of industries.
With sustainability and carbon reduction still a priority, Zotefoams has extended its technical capability with its first, fully recyclable foam range, as it remains committed to reducing environmental impact, innovating in circular economy solutions and ensuring longevity and recyclability of its unique materials.
Polypropylene (PP) and Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) foams are a group of closed cell, non-crosslinked foams manufactured using a Supercritical Foaming Technology. These foams are fully recyclable with exceptional inbuilt properties to add to Zotefoams’ portfolio, including excellent resilience and low dielectric properties.
PP foam exhibits outstanding dielectric constant and low dielectric loss as well as excellent insulating properties, making it the ideal solution for applications including high-frequency housings. PP foam is also ideal for use in between the cells of EV batteries as it exhibits minimal changes in compression stress over a wide range of deformations, allowing the cells to expand and contract during charging cycles extending the lifetime of a battery. With high stiffness at low density, PP foam is a versatile thermoplastic offering significant rigidity while remaining lightweight, and is also flame-retardant and performs to UL-94 HF-1.
TPU foam is lightweight and significantly durable as it carries exceptional resilient characteristics, suiting it to an array of applications such as military personal use items, including mats and backpacks, where key requirements are specific to weight and robustness.
Also on display, will be Zotefoams’ full line-up of the Ecozote® Sustainability foams range – a collection of closed cell, crosslinked low-density polyethylene (LDPE) foams – which incorporates 30% recycled material. Following the success of Ecozote LDR containing 30% pre-consumer waste and already used in many product protection applications, the second range – Ecozote PE/R, is
Zotefoams’ first foam to incorporate 30% post-consumer recycled content, certified by EU-Certplast. The material’s fine cell, matte black appearance makes it perfect for luxury packaging applications.
Alongside Ecozote, Zotefoams will share the most comprehensive range of technical block foams, including the AZOTE® polyolefin and ZOTEK® high-performance foam ranges.
With sustainability a key focus, AZOTE Global Business Manager, Fabrice Lacroix, will take part in the Foam Expo conference Opening Keynote, at 10.00am on 03 December, presenting how Zotefoams responds to rethinking foam product development for the circular economy.
Also, on Day 2 [04 December] at 11.00am, Sam Norman, Zotefoams’ Commercial Head of HPP, Europe and Asia, will be presenting the unique properties of Zotefoams’ lightweight, closed-cell block foams, and the uses of these within electric vehicles, particularly EV battery applications, on the Solutions Innovation Stage.
Zotefoams’ Group CEO, Ronan Cox, comments, “We are looking forward to introducing our full range of uniquely lightweight, durable, pure and consistent foams at this year’s Foam Expo Europe. At the core of our business is our belief in the superiority of our products, offering unrivalled material properties that distinguish us in the market and, crucially, unlock the success of our customers. Our ongoing commitment to innovation enables us to push the boundaries of technology to create new products and refine existing ones – this ensures that we remain at the forefront of technological advancement and gives customers ongoing access to innovative products and solutions.”
Zotefoams is exhibiting on Stand 301 at Foam Expo North Europe 2024, taking place from 3 – 5 December 2024. For more information, please visit www.zotefoams.com.